


Crash

by Carlamberlaining



Category: Football RPF, Real Person Fiction, Sports RPF
Genre: Arsenal FC, Carlamberlain, Fluff, I thought this was cute, M/M, So there you go, and I was bored
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-09
Updated: 2015-06-10
Packaged: 2018-04-03 15:51:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4106476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carlamberlaining/pseuds/Carlamberlaining
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four times Alex and Carl's life crash into each other. It will be fluff and then it will be more ;) The story will follow different points of their life in each different chapter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Car(l) Crash

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who reads this, gives kudos or leaves a comment you are all treasures! This is purely for my own entertainment! This is a warm-up chapter, the next ones will be better!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They’re passing the ball to each other in warm-ups but there’s none of the friendly chat, none of the usual jokes. Every time Alex says something to Carl, he just shrugs it off and ends the conversation. Carl is really pissed off, Alex thinks, and he’s worried because Carl has never been so annoyed at him that he chooses to ignore him. Not the time he accidentally chucked one of his X-box controllers out the window or when he set fire to the toaster (and nearly the house). Not the time he called his aunt the worst singer he’d ever heard on X-factor or the time where he replaced his shampoo with purple hair dye as an April’s fools. Frankly, Alex had no clue what to do to get out of the mess he was in.

Alex is sitting in his car, windows rolled down, music blearing as he turns into the training ground car park. He’s so lost in his music that he doesn’t notice the sudden breaking of the car in front of him. Oblivious, he bumps into the car with a sickening _crash_ , unhurt but shaken. He doesn’t really react at first- he’s not sure how. What’s he supposed to do- cry? Scream? Reverse? Get out? Oh yes, get out, check the other driver isn’t too hurt either. 

Analysing the car, he realises the driver must be Jenko; no one else owns as shitty a car as that. It’s kind of endearing that Jenko doesn’t feel the need to spend extravagantly on top-of-the range Ferraris and Lamborghinis, but honestly a 12 year old Ford Fiesta his dad bought him 5 years ago? Alex was a fan of modesty but seriously, he thinks, that boy needs to get a grip. His nan drives a better car than him, well, almost.

He gets out to survey the damage and check if Jenko is okay, because if there’s one partnership he doesn’t want to ruin in the club, it’s the famed Carlamberlain. Grimacing, he observes the extent of the damage, Alex has managed to smash Carl’s back lights, crack his windscreen and crush at least part of the boot. Thankfully, as selfish as it is, his car appears to be made of stronger stuff and the only evidence of the crash is a slight scratch. A 50 quid paint job, he muses, unlucky Jenko though, his car looks like a dead cert write-off. 

He finally makes his way down to the driver’s window where Carl rolls down his window.

“Yeah cheers for that mate,” Carl complains, “that’s just what I wanted this morning.” Alex hangs his head, feeling guilty but relieved that Jenko wasn’t too injured – at least that’s what he assumes because he severely doubts that, as great as Jenko is, he would be making jokes if his leg needed amputating.

Alex mumbled an apology, watching as Carl just attempted to drive off in silence, ignoring him. Great, he thinks, the one person I want to impress I’ve managed to annoy the most. Carl doesn’t get very far though, maybe a few centimetres, before his car just grinds to a halt. He gets out, shoulders (perfectly defined, Alex adds) tense and grabs his kit bag from the back seat. Yep, Alex thought, I’ve done a pretty good job of both destroying his car and our friendship. He drove around Jenko’s abandoned car and pulled into a space before following him into the training ground. 

They’re passing the ball to each other in warm-ups but there’s none of the friendly chat, none of the usual jokes. Every time Alex says something to Carl, he just shrugs it off and ends the conversation. Carl is really pissed off, Alex thinks, and he’s worried because Carl has never been so annoyed at him that he chooses to ignore him. Not the time he accidentally chucked one of his X-box controllers out the window or when he set fire to the toaster (and nearly the house). Not the time he called his aunt the worst singer he’d ever heard on X-factor or the time where he replaced his shampoo with purple hair dye as an April’s fools. Frankly, Alex had no clue what to do to get out of the mess he was in. Carl had every right to be annoyed, Alex reasoned, he’d be mad if it was him. But Chambo has no clue- no _fucking_ clue- how to put it right between them.

Once warm-ups were over they weren’t paired up for the rest of the session and instead Alex spent the time thinking of the best way to make it up to Carl. His lack of concentration on the pitch showed, he missed several easy chances and his passing didn’t have its normal ‘zing’. He was pulled aside by the Boss to be told off but Alex couldn’t find it in himself to care, he was more worried about Jenko and resolving the whole issue so he didn’t hate him.

Kieran pulled him aside during a drinks break as well, to check he was okay. Alex realised he must look seriously down and out of it because Kieran normally kept himself to himself, no matter the situation. He nodded but didn't mean it and Gibbo could tell because he patted his arm and told him it would all be okay and they’ll work things out. 

It left Alex wondering about how his teammates see him and Jenko, they’re nothing more than friends- best mates if that changes anything- not that Chambo would object to anything more, it just wouldn’t happen. Especially now he’s fucked up and they’re in the middle of some silent argument, consisting of Carl ignoring him and throwing him cold glares from across the pitch. As much as he would love to explore something more with Carl, he needed to sort out his current issues with him first.

At lunch, Alex broached the car situation with him. He has never been good at these sorts of things, he hates being serious but he’ll do whatever is necessary to get Carl’s friendship back. “Carl,” he starts carefully and Jenko could tell he’s nervous because that’s the only time Alex ever calls him that. 

“S’fine Alex,” Carl shrugged, his face blank and voice expressionless, but Alex could sense the frustration behind the words and didn’t give up. He didn’t miss the use of Alex instead of the usual “Ox” or “Chambo” either.

“No, Carl, it’s not and I’m sorry I wasn’t looking properly, it’s all my fault. Tell me which car you want and I’ll get it-“he was about to continue but Carl just shook his head, eyebrows furrowed together, close enough to make a long unibrow. If it wasn’t for the tension in the situation Alex would laugh at him, make a joke out of it.

“Let me at least repair your car then Carl, or pay for it, whatever,” Alex pleaded but Carl still shook his head- he was annoyed, but he wouldn’t make Alex pay, it wasn’t like he didn’t have enough money himself. Besides they were still friends and Carl didn’t like the idea that they had to forgive each other through money. That was what insurance companies did, or strangers, and Alex was neither of those things to him. He was his best mate and he knew it wasn’t intentional. And he knew that Alex was mentally beating himself up and Carl didn’t want to add to that.

It was with that in mind that he agreed to Chambo’s final request, “At least let me drive you home then, your car’s got no hope.” Alex gave a small smile at his agreement but Carl didn’t return it, he wasn’t quite forgiven then, Alex decided. The rest of lunch passed in silence, it was awkward but it wasn’t hostile and Alex thought it was worth it. He would rather survive a week of awkward silences and not have Jenko hate him, it was almost enough for Alex to start making jokes again, but he restrained himself. 

At the end of training, they still weren’t back to their normal level but they were at least talking. They left the pitch together, showered next to each other as per normal and Carl even made a joke to him. Alex finally allowed his muscles to relax under the stream of warm water, content that they we’re back on speaking terms. 

Alex drives him home that night, waving at him from his car as Jenko unlocks his front door and disappears inside. He’s persuaded Carl to agree to Alex picking him up the next morning.


	2. Coffee Crash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Do you know what else is hot?” Carl asked Alex, and Chambo glanced up expectantly, although a little reluctantly given the circumstances. “Chilli sauce!” Jenko laughed at his own joke, expecting Alex to do the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you who read, kudo-ed and subscribed, you're all awesome! This one is even fluffier, a little angsty (not really though) and took me far too long (apologies!).

It’s been months since Carl got a new car; they split the price because Alex felt guilty. It’s nothing too special, a classy Range Rover, but Alex thinks it’s a massive improvement on the old Fiesta so he’s happy. It doesn’t mean they stop lift sharing though.

They’ve fallen into a routine, him and Alex. Alex drives them to training each morning, tooting impatiently outside Carl’s house if Carl has overslept to remind him that just because he got his beauty sleep, Alex didn’t, and he doesn’t want to be late because of his laziness. After training they’ll go and get coffee or hang out in one of their houses, playing FIFA over cups of tea. Carl offers to drive home, partly because he feels bad for Alex doing all the work and partly because he loves how worried Alex gets. Alex accepts because they’re “equal” in their friendship or whatever Carlamberlain is.

“Calm down geeze, everything’s okay,” Carl will say when he takes the wheel, cruising at 70 (he’ll claim never more than the speed limit though they both know it’s not true), but that won’t stop Alex from gripping the leather armrests of his car. Alex won’t relax until the car pulls up on the drive.

“I’m the safer driver out of us anyway, _I’ve_ never crashed,” Carl will say every time Alex begs him to let him take over.

And Alex will always retort, “It was your awful driving that led to that situation anyway Jenks.” Jenko will laugh because he knows it’s not true (and he knows Alex doesn’t believe it either) and if he’s in the mood he will point this out in Alex. 

“It wasn’t my driving that made you forget where the brake pedal is.” or “Naah mate it was your dodgy afro-beats that you dance to- actually I take that back, you can’t _dance_ more like flail your limbs out of time,” or “It wasn’t my driving which removed your eyeballs.” It guarantees a response out of Alex, and Carl loves that, loves the way Alex laughs if he’s come up with a new one or the way Alex will affectionately punch him if he can’t think of a comeback.

Sometimes he’ll let it go because it’s worth seeing the triumphant smile etched onto Alex’s face, and Carl lives for those little moments. And it means he’s allowed to drive more often. He’s more comfortable behind the wheel of Alex’s car than his own anyway; the Range Rover spends most of the time in his garage. 

On one particular afternoon they were driving through town after training, watching as the clouds broke and raindrops splattered the windscreen. Carl loved driving through the rain, watching as nature took control of the outside whilst having no impact on them or the car they sat in. He loved watching the raindrops build up on the windscreen only to wipe them away before letting them build up again until it was _absolutely necessary_ to wipe them away again. Alex hated it- it was one of the worst things about driving with him, Alex had once told him. Carl didn’t care, it didn’t happen often: Chambo would have to suck it up.

However Alex really wasn’t in the mood for his poor windscreen wiping habits on this particular afternoon, they’d had a bad day at training after the defeat the night before, so Carl agreed to park up in the town centre so they could grab coffees. When he said coffee, he did of course mean that he would get hot chocolate (with marshmallows and whipped cream, because -according to Alex at least- he was just a big kid) but it was in a coffee shop so it counted. 

They always visited the same coffee shop, quiet and family run; they had no worries about anyone seeing them there and they could trust the staff. They visited the coffee shop frequently, probably more than they should, and the staff knew both them and their preferences. They always sat at the same table in a corner, with squashy brown leather armchairs, partially hidden by a large potted plant. 

Carl couldn’t remember whether it had always been there or was bought specifically for them. He was pretty sure the staff suspected their friendship wasn’t just friendship but they had never said anything to them and he was grateful for that. He would have to say no and that would make their current situation too defined for him, at the moment he could pretend that what they had was slightly more than just friendship.

The staff would bring over their drinks- mostly their usual but sometimes new recipes for them to try. On that afternoon the barista brought over a “toffee chocolate dream” for Carl- hot chocolate with toffee syrup and a mountain of whipped cream drizzled with toffee sauce. He had never seen- or smelt- anything as good. Alex almost looked a little jealous of it as his coffee was put down on the small table in front of them.

They relaxed into their chairs, the torrential rain that forced them in there forgotten. Some quiet jazz type music was playing and Carl sighed, contented. He picks up his drink and holds it up to face, breathing in the warm chocolate scent. That is, until Alex’s elbow flies into his side causing him to jump and throw his drink upwards. Thankfully, the mountain of cream prevented most of the drink from spilling everywhere but the same mountain of cream meant Carl had a massive splodge of it on his nose.

“Chambo, you potato!” Carl exclaimed, trying to lick the cream off his nose with his tongue. It didn’t work; he never really stood a chance.

Alex just laughs at him, his face lifted into a smile, “It’s a good look on you mate, should be grateful.” Carl just rolls his eyes at him, not deeming that comment worthy of any kind of response.

“Fine I’ll sort it for you then,” and before Jenko has any time to prepare Alex leans up close and wipes the cream off with his finger. Jenko blushes, the proximity of Alex’s fingers to his face apparently does something to him. Alex very slowly lifts his finger up to his mouth and licks the cream off it, looking very deliberately at Jenko. Carl has no idea what that means but he can feel himself get even redder and he has to break the stare, looking down at his drink. When he looks back up he can swear there’s a slight pink flush to Chambo’s cheeks too but it’s hard to tell what with the café lighting and Alex’s honey skin. He catches himself- _honey_ coloured, God Jenko stop trying to be all poetic. He must be infatuated.

He takes a sip of his drink, trying to cover up his embarrassment. It tastes good, really good, and he breathes in the smell, not noticing the way Alex is watching him over his own drink. He drinks half of it before Alex interrupts him, “Oi Jenko, pass it here. Is it cool if I try some?” Carl thinks for a minute, hesitant as he isn’t one for sharing drinks but nods slowly. It doesn’t seem to matter as much if it’s Alex than if it’s anyone else.

Carl grabs some of his coffee in exchange, trying to work out if he’s actually missing out on anything seeing as Alex practically lives off of it. The coffee must have something extra in it, or else he’s really sensitive to caffeine because he can feel his heart speed up and his face become flushed. Then again, it might just be the hand resting on his leg, Alex’s hand.

He looks up confused, maybe he’s reading too much into it. Alex has scraped off some of the cream onto his finger and is holding it out for him. Alex raises his eyebrows, challenging him. Fine then, Jenko thinks, challenge accepted. He leans forward and licks it off his finger, blushing slightly.

He hears Alex begin to mumble something and then abruptly cut himself off. He looks up curious, “What didya say Chambo?” but Alex just shakes his head, feigning ignorance. 

Carl would have left it but Alex had just made him lick cream off his finger and he felt insecure of himself, what if he Alex hadn’t meant for him to do that? As much as the truth could hurt him, he would rather know and not spend all night worrying about if he had wrecked their friendship. “No,” he pushed Alex, “what did you say? Come on mate it doesn’t matter…”

“It’s not important, Jenko, okay?” Alex replied, flustered. Carl couldn’t make sense of that; he was the one who had just licked cream off Alex’s finger, not the other way round. He knew Alex when he was in a mood like this, he was the stubbornest ox he had ever encountered. 

He gave it one last try, almost defeated, “Alex...” he sighed, frowning.

“Fine! Fine Jenko, okay!” Alex suddenly stressed his voice higher than normal. “I said it was hot- you were hot but it’s not important okay.” This time there was no mistaking the red tint that was in Alex’s cheeks. Carl wasn’t sure if it was from frustration, anger or embarrassment. He didn’t care; Alex had just called him hot, called _him_ hot. 

He glanced across the table at Alex, noticing him chewing his nails anxiously and he realised his hadn’t given Alex any indication about how he was feeling. He smiled warmly at Alex, but the other boy was refusing to look at him, staring down at his lap intently. Carl decided there was only one other option.

“Do you know what else is hot?” Carl asked Alex, and Chambo glanced up expectantly although a little reluctantly given the circumstances. “Chilli sauce!” Jenko laughed at his own joke, expecting Alex to do the same. He was wrong though, Alex had just looked down at his lap again and he seemed close to tears. Carl realised too late that it was the wrong thing to do, that Alex thought he was laughing at him. 

He tried once more, “Naah seriously Chambo, do you know what would be hot?” Alex refused even to look up this time, balling his hands up tightly together, his knuckles turning white. Carl took matters into his own hands, literally. He leaned forwards, moving his drink slightly so that it wasn’t in their way. Jenko grabbed Alex’s hands and pulled them apart, forcing him to unclench his hands. He threaded his fingers between Alex’s, noticing both their hands were slightly clammy.

“Us!” he said simply and with that leaned in to _crash_ Alex’s coffee-scented lips against his. It was nothing dramatic, nothing too passionate but they moulded their mouths to each other desperately, saying all they could to each other in one kiss. Alex carefully unwound one of his hands from Carl’s grip, cupping the back of Jenko’s neck, drawing him closer and playing with the small hairs Carl had there. 

They both pulled back at the same time, not wanting to go too far when they could be seen by God knows who and both a little out of breath, though they had no reason to be. Carl’s heart was beating faster than normal, his cheeks were flushed but he had never felt such happiness and such relief as he had in that moment, when he had expressed his emotions to Alex.

Alex reached for his hand again, gripping them both tightly as if he never wanted to let go. They leaned into each other, Alex putting his head onto Carl’s broad shoulders as the slightly shorter one of the two. He closed his eyes, contented, the brief moment of embarrassment behind them. Carl tilted his head slightly, kissing Alex’s hair and then resting his head on top of it, as if it had belonged there all his life. It probably had he thought, they were meant for each other. 

It was a few minutes later when they noticed the rain that forced them in had stopped and instead the sun was shining, a faint rainbow present in the sky. They smiled at each other, they had already found their pot of gold.


End file.
